Ralph Holmes

Board Secretary

Ralph is currently a public finance banker at the firm Stifel Nicolaus, working with local agencies in the issuance of tax exempt municipal debt for public projects. He joined Stifel earlier this year, after serving as a partner at the firm De La Rosa & Co. for 8 years. Prior to joining De La Rosa he worked at the regional investment bank Piper Jaffray. Ralph has a total of 18 years working in the field of public finance, financing a variety of public projects including city and county facilities, redevelopment projects, schools and other infrastructure. While working with De La Rosa, Ralph and his colleagues provided advice to the Unity Council on its outstanding variable rate bonds and interest rate cap. Ralph previously worked with board member Joe Yew when Joe was an investment banker at De La Rosa & Co, and later the finance director for the City of Oakland.

Ralph is from the East Bay and has lived in Berkeley, Oakland and Orinda. He attended public schools in Berkeley, graduating from Berkeley High School in 1988. Ralph received his BA from UCLA in Latin American Studies in 1994 and his MBA from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of Management in 1996.

The Unity Council (officially known as the Spanish Speaking Unity Council) envisions a joyful, united, and engaged community where people have the power to shape their lives. Founded in 1964 as a nonprofit community development organization committed to enriching the quality of life primarily in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, its Mission is to promote social equity and improve quality of life by building vibrant communities where everyone can work, learn and thrive.